Tragic Oliver Forde’s mother says ‘this takes pieces out of me’ as she pleads for inquest date

The DPP has ordered that no criminal proceedings be brought following the death of a young boy following a tragic incident at a hotel swimming pool in Offaly more than two years ago, an inquest has heard.

Oliver Forde (6) from Innismore, Crumlin Dublin died at Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin on May 31, 2022 – two days after getting into difficulty while playing in the pool at the Tullamore Court Hotel in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

A Health and Safety Authority inspector, Aidan Kelly, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Tuesday that the DPP had ordered that there be no prosecution in the case after having received a file on the boy’s death from the HSA.

After hearing the update from the HSA inspector, the deceased’s mother, Nina Mahon, asked if a date could be set immediately to allow the full investigation to continue.

Choking back tears, Ms Mahon said having to wait so long for an inquest to be held into her son’s death was “a sadistic situation”.

“I just want to get on with my life,” she told the coroner, Clare Keane.

Ms Mahon said she had been waiting for the inquest for two and a half years but kept being “brought back” to hearings.

“It’s not fair to my children and my family,” Ms Mahon said.

She added: “I need this to be over and the sooner the better. It’s sadistic to experience this.

Ms Mahon said she also had to continue to take time off work to attend hearings.

“It takes out lumps for me. My children don’t understand it,” she observed.

Dr Keane reassured Ms Mahon that she was confident she had all the necessary evidence from potential witnesses to be able to set a date for the full inquest to be held.

A legal representative from Tullamore Court Hotel was also present at the hearing.

At a previous inquest last year, autopsy results confirmed that Oliver died from injuries caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The coroner noted that the boy’s brain damage was consistent with “prolonged immersion in water.”

The autopsy results were also reviewed by Tusla – the Children and Families Agency – which forwarded them to its national independent review panel which examines the histories of child deaths.

Oliver, who was a pupil at Harold’s Cross National School in Dublin, was rushed by emergency services to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore after getting into difficulty in the hotel swimming pool before being transferred by ambulance to Crumlin Hospital.

He is survived by his parents, Denis and Nina, as well as his two brothers, Jack and Lucas.

Offering his condolences to Ms Mahon, the coroner said she had suffered a loss “unimaginable to most of us here”.

Dr Keane said his registrar would speak with his family to arrange a suitable date for the full inquest to be held.